Water service system for railway yards



y w. F. ZABRISKIE ETAL 2,445,414

WATER SERVICE SYSTEM FOR RAILWAY YARDS Filed June 12, 1944 M3 2 uvmvroas v WILLIAM F. ZABRISKI E 3y HOYT POST ATTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented July 20, 1948 1 1 WATER seitvlcc SYSTEM oe R L YARDS.

William- F; Zabriskie, Detroit, and Hoyt Post,

rosse PointeQ Mich assignors to Gabriel Steel Company," Dtroifif Mich..- a" corporation f;

1 .Michigan' I "Application June 1944. s ra ns. 534x952 The invention relatesto water service systems for railway yards" arid similar installations in which a series of hydrants are provided adjacent to the tracks for use in filling. the water tanks of the individual cars in all seasons of the they should be located below the frostlind-t avoid. freezing inthe wintertime. However,- as thefhydrant's extend upward above the frost line, they must be drained when not-"inuse and it has been the practice to discharge the drain water into the surroundingsoil. 4 Wh'ile this moth ay protect th hydrants from freezing, it has'been round that in many locations f't'he dra'i. water accumulate around the distal-largefop M instead of passing completely-away. Asa shit, whenthe hydrant is ag-ain -iisd'fthere is danger that the drain water will be siphoned back and mixed with the water in the tanks. Consequently, sanitary regulations have prohibited the use of such systems.

It is the object of the invention to obtain a system which avoids this defect and which is equally effective in preventing freezing. To this end the invention consists in the construction and method of operation of an improved system as hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view illustrating my improved water service system;

Fig. 2 is a vertical central section through one of the hydrants;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the construction more in detail;.

Fig. 4 is a cross section on line 4-4, Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5'5, Fig. 4.

The essential feature of our invention is the method of avoiding freezing of the water in the portions of the hydrant which are above the frost line by maintaining the same in constant circulation. Inasmuch as the water in the supply system is at a temperature considerably above the freezing point, all that is necessary to prevent freezing at any point is to maintain the flow. This need not involve the wasting of any water as it may be returned to the supply system after completing the circuit.

As shown in Fig. 1, A, A, A ar tracks in a railway yard and B, B, etc. are hydrants arranged adjacent to these tracks and spaced from each other by substantially the length of a railway coach. C is a water supply conduit buried beneath the frost line and extending successively to all of the hydrants. There is also a conduit D extending from the last of the series of hydrants As such systems are used yearfit is essential that 3 Claims. (01. 137 7 8) to connect with the conduit C at some" point in advarfce of the first o'f'the hydrants-3 "connected intoth conduit D i s-ap'ump E-driv'en either elLrE many or by any other source of power and which maintains a constant circulation of the water. v Each of the hydrants B has at its upper end a service connection Fprefe'rablyi located in apex at or nearthesurfaceof the ground.- A valve isalso arranged'within the box i'mniedia 1y ad acent to the service connection F,- whichvalve" v 'portfor theescape of the small quantity o a i .y valve H is a vrtical c nduit' I divided by" tral' pertinent into upward nd dcwnwa u pas sages' 'K and K'i- At-[thllfiwr end of thee 1' duit I are nipples L aridL connectedrespectively to the passages K and K and adapted to be coupled into the conduit C. Thus, when the pump E is in operation, there will be a constant flow of water through the conduit C which at each of the hydrants will flow upward through the passage K to a point adjacent the valve H and will then flow downward through the passage K. After passing all of the hydrants the water is returned through the conduit D and reintroduced into the conduit C. The hydrants B are preferably formed of standard pipe sections and other elements welded to each other. As specifically shown, the construction comprises a substantially rectangular section M to the opposite sides of which the nipples L and L are connected by welding to extend in alignment with each other. M is a central partition in the section M having a curved lower end portion M extending to the side of said section and a second curved portion M extending to the opposite side of the section, all of these parts being secured to each other by welding. Above the section M is the vertical conduit I which is welded to said section M filling in the corners M by welded metal. The central partition J is also welded to the partition M. The upper end of the conduit I is threadedly engaged or welded with a tapered coupling N which, in turn, is threadedly engaged with the valve H. There is also preferably a surrounding pipe section 0 having an annular head P at its lower end connecting it with the conduit I. This forms a casing for containing heat insulating material which protects all of the structure below the box G. The latter is of the usual construction being provided with a hinged cover G and preferably with a link G connected to said cover cooperating with the handle H to close the valve whenever ticularly designed for use in railway yards, an

other important use is in trailer camps. In all 3. In a water service system, the combination with a water supply conduit located below the frost line, of means for positively circulating water through said conduit 9. hydrant connected into said conduit and comprising an upwardly extending. portion divided into separate passages connected at their lower ends with separate portions of said conduit, a fitting at the upper end of said portion connecting said passages with such places the system will meet all of thesani said valve in its closed position being adapted to tar requirements for it is obvious that no water outside of the system can be-drawn into the same, b

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a water service system, thecombination with a water supply conduit located below the frost line, of means for positively circulating, water through said conduit a hydrant connected into said conduit and extending upward there-.3,-

from being provided at its upper end with a service fitting and an adjacent valve controlling thesame, and means dividing said hydrant into separate water passages connected at their upper ends adjacent to said valve and at their lower ends connected to separate portions of said conduit.

, 2. In a water service system, the combination with a water supply conduit located below the frost line, of means for positively circulating water through said conduit a hydrant connected into said conduit and extending upward therefrom being provided with a central partition forming separate water passages connected at their lower ends with separate portions of said conduit, a fitting at the upper end of said hydrant connecting said passages to each other, a valve connected to said fitting, anda service discharge fitting adjacentwto said valve.

. said box and extending down to below the frost each other, a valve connected with said fitting, a servicedischarge fitting adjacent to said valve,

drain the water therefrom and from said service fitting, a'box enclosing said valve and service fitting, and meansproviding thermal insulation surrounding theIportion of the hydrant below line.

- WILLIAM F. ZABRISKIE.

HOYT POST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references .are of record in the file of this patent: 1

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I Name Date 156,777 Dickey Nov. 10, 1874 171,116 Folliard Dec. 14, 1875 402,421 Durham Apr. 30, 1889 604,611 Genset May 24, 1898 822,920 Callaghan June 12, 1906 828,138 .O-Neill Aug. 7, 1906 1,087,136 Nutter Feb. 17, 1914 1,274,507 Bull Aug. 6,, 19 8 1,755,451 Morrison Apr. 22, 1930 Atkinson Nov. 24, 1936 

